Edith Machinist

The favorite vintage store in Manhattan!
Perfectly selected pieces, very organized, the girls working in the shop is always super friendly! The selection of shoes and bags are the best! You will always find something that you fall in love with.

This place is a very unique vintage shop just in the center of Manhattan. This place is definitely one of the best vintage shop in New York. They carry one of the most famous fashion designers apparel such as Dolce & Gabbana. I find one amazing pair of shoes lately hope it will be still there. If you like fashion and vintage you must come in the LES and see this place. For my part, I will need to buy something there soon.

I stumbled upon Edith Machinist by accident. It’s a cute little vintage shop but I don’t really understand the rave reviews. The clothes are rather unimpressive. They look old, not vintage, and a lot of them feature the most horrendous prints and unflattering silhouettes. I did find the some of the shoes quite cute as there are a wide variety of styles and interesting cuts. I also appreciated the fact that they take care to have shoes in a wide range of sizes given that they are such a small shop. The handbags were nice but they were pretty standard and boring. There were a lot of small black handbags without much embellishment or many defining characteristics. I found a lot of bags in the $ 100 range.
As for the condition of the items, most of the items seemed clean and in good condition. Some of the leather bags showed signs of wear. The patent leather bags were a little scuffed in places. The shoes were slightly scuffed and had dirty soles, which is to be expected from shoes that have actually been worn. The store also has that smell that characterizes some vintage shops.
So far I’ve been in twice and haven’t really found anything special. The first time I went in, the woman working there was very friendly and explained the layout of the store to me and the way they had organized the shoe section by size. The second time I went in, a different woman was working and she completely ignored me.
I think this shop is worth a look if you happen upon it as I did but it’s not a place I would run to as the chances of discovering that one fantastic find are slim.

A very cute and very well-​organized vintage boutique! A hidden gem. Not to mention the owners provide top-​notch and very personalized service.
Their collection is selective, so each piece is special and oh so pretty.
The best collection of handbags, shoes, boots, and dresses. Super pretty and urban chic.
My favorite vintage store in the city. I love this place.

wow — what a cute little hidden find!
i scored an amazing vintage leather backpack and probably would’ve scooped up about 10 million other things if i made about 10 million more dollars a year.
it’s definitely not cheap, but they carry tons of unique, quality items that are organized very well.

Every time I go in here, I know I will walk out with a shopping back. I am a vintage shopping fanatic. They have the best bags. I do find it can be a little pricey so expect to drop more money than you usually do shopping vintage, however the quality is fantastic. I have a tendency to go here after drunk brunch and buy way to much!

i absolutely adore this vintage shop. i always fall in love with their bags and shoes. they truly do have a beautiful collection of vintage designer handbags and shoes. their selection is awesome, the service is excellent (they let you look around without staring you down or hassling you).
now a days, edith machinist has kinda become eye-​candy for me.
not in my budget to be dropping money like that for old vintage goods.

Edith has a great selection of vintage boots in various sizes (arranged from small– large along the wall to the right of the door). Be prepared to drop a pretty penny if you see something you like.

Vintage shopping heaven. One of the best vintage shops in NYC for women’s clothing and accessories.

The amount of pretty vintage shoes and handbags in this well organized and curated shop is overwhelming. You’ll outright weep when you realize ladies of yore had smaller feet and that the lone pair of perfectly intact deep brown Mary Janes you covet is a size 5, not a 7. This would be the perfect place to discover your new favourite pair of shoes or carry-​all purse. Gorgeous, handpicked finds line every corner of the shop and the sales clerks leave you alone to browse at your own leisure, which is appreciated when all you want to do is ogle.
Bring money.

edith machinist is my go to handbag spot.
i’ve bought (2) beautiful fendi purses from there. they always have a good vintage designer handbag selection.
i haven’t bought shoes here yet, but there are mounds to choose from!
YSL, Feragamo, tons of other designers.
def recommended.

It didn’t smell like a pig barn or an old library so this place definitely gets a thumbs up from me. It’s clean, well-​kept, items are neatly shelved, and the sales associates are friendly and so helpful. Even though I didn’t find anything myself, I can see myself frequent haunting this place to paw through their awesome selection of boots and handbags/​clutches. The items are on the pricier side, think $ 75-​$ 150+ for a handbag and $ 100-​$ 250 for boots, but everything was in great condition.

Awesome Boots. The woman who owns the store is named Edith Machinist. While it sounds like she might be part robot, her real pre-​immigration name is Russian and sounds like Machni… something something which actually means Shoe Maker. Her store is incredible. Lots of flat cute short boots and cute handbags. I scored late 80s Neiman Marcus short fox hunting boots for just over $ 150. yes.

I really shouldn’t visit New York. It’s the love-​affair that will never die. A love affair with the restaurants. The museums. The streets. The architecture. And above all… the shopping.
Edith Machinist is a well known vintage shoppers haven from all that I’ve read/​heard about the place. I dragged my man down to the Lower East Side after brunch just so we… strike that… just so that I, could peruse their vintage wares. We arrived and had to wait 20 minutes before they opened, but it was well worth the wait.
I didn’t purchase anything (this time), but just the sheer joy of seeing the amazing pieces hanging on the walls and placed purposefully on each shelf, was worth the visit alone.
The shoe collection here is INSANE! The bags, even more insane. Gorgeous vintage Chanel and Ferragamo. Beautiful dresses and coats. Everything from turn of the century styles to 1960’s and 70’s mod. It was seriously a wonderland of vintage goodness.
Expensive, yes. But you can find some decent deals if you dig.
Hooray for good vintage! What a gem.

Amazing bags and shoes are everywhere here. I love the warm cozy atmosphere. I found an amazing Jean Muir dress here that’s one of my favorite pieces I own, as well as my first Roncelli studded jacket. Just don’t be around when they’re closing ’cause they’ll kick you out!

I was literally drooling over the bags here — they have a great selection of vintage bags, shoes, clothes, belts, just about everything. The prices are very reasonable and Edith is a total sweetheart!

Edie is the originator of the vintage craze on the LES. Frequented by models and stylists, she has stood the test of time on Rivington. Her shop is simply the best of the genre with an enormus selection of vintage and newer shoes, boots and bags. From Chanel to Ferragamo her store is like a vintage fantasy of items. I have bought many things here over the years before vintage was as mass marketed as it is now. A huge sale in a few weeks makes this a must visit shop.

Edith Machinist was my ultimate temptation for the year or so that I worked on the Lower East Side. I would spend hours examining the vast array of barely weathered vintage purses and shoes — running my hands over a collection of so many near perfect accessories, utterly unable to come to a decision on which to bring home. My attachment to their bags and boots promptly sparked a strong disdain for anything «new.»
Unfortunately, the steep prices severely limited my choices and I was forced to settle on just a couple of items every once in awhile. Still, deals can be found as charming pumps occasionally go for around $ 30, and boots and bags for under $ 100.
Do not hesitate to come here if you’re looking to splurge. Come here anyway, if only to squeal, gaze, and sigh over nothing more than a pair of boots.

The name says it all: pretty vintagey women’s wear (the ‘edith’ness) with a touch of urban minimalism (the ‘machinist’-esse). (Had the owners a chic-​er version of ‘Rosie the Riveter’ in mind?) The aesthetic here privileges shirring, pleating, buckles, buttons, patterns and textures — but nothing in excess.
The boot collection makes for the highlight. Royal blue suede knee-​high boots with subtle ankle rouching? Why yes. Rich plum leather mid-​calf boots with perfectly tapered wooden heel? Fret not. Taupe-​gray over-​the-​knee boots, sending you into a swoon of deja-​vu over something glimpsed at Barney’s and painfully given up as five income-​brackets beyond you? Yes, even those. If you can’t help yourself from accruing a rainbow assortment of American Apparel stuff, for instance, only to find that you’ve nothing to wear with those bright mint leggings, check out this collection and be calmed.
The prices here, too, are a bit dear, my dears, but averaging modestly (‘modest’ is Manhattan-​adjusted) at around $ 180 for frocks and $ 230 for footwear. Worthwhile pieces can be found, too, at the $ 50 rack.
But the BEST part? Economy Candy is right next door.

Edith Machinist has one of the best collections of vintage purses, shoes, and boots I’ve ever seen, in ten years and three continents of vintage shopping. Hundreds of handbags line the walls, and there are so many pairs of shoes that the racks can’t hold them — there’s a winding row of shoes lined up neatly on the floor, circling the shop.
The bags are mostly 70s-​80s (with a few from as early as the 40s), and if you’re looking for something Marc-​by-​Marc-​Jacobs-​y for under $ 450, this is the place to find it. Most bags I looked at seemed to be in the $ 50-​$ 150 range — you could find them much cheaper at thrift stores, but, you couldn’t find this selection all in one place.
The shoes seemed to date a little earlier — maybe 50s-​80s, with a ton of 70s boots. They do sell vintage clothing as well, but it seems pretty 60s-​centric, and the only really astonishing piece I saw was an ivory 1930s silk dress with intricate seaming, priced a bit much at $ 350. The owner also sells some dresses and tops of her own design, silky grey and cream and black pieces priced in the $ 200 range.
The staff are friendly and helpful every time I visit — even the time I went with a roll on suitcase (because spending your 10 hour layover at JFK is to go shopping in Manhattan is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, no, really) …and any way, the staff kindly offered to take the bag for me, asked if I was looking for anything specific, etc.